Summary:
Welcome to The Sunshine Skate’s first ever “Game Day Post”. Tonight, the beloved Panthers square off against their bitter rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in a game expected to be a complete blood bath. Wait, what’s that? Tampa Bay and Florida get along just fine? I thought the Governor’s Cup might have changed that. Oh well, onto the game!
Historical Context:
In the Panthers’ 21-year history, the cats have historically matched up very well against the Tampa Bay Lightning. So well, in fact, the Panthers have their best record (1st out of their 29 opponents) against Tampa Bay. In 113 games played, the Panthers have 57 Wins, 35 Losses, 10 Ties (Remember those whacky things?!), and 11 Overtime Losses against Tampa Bay. This leaves the Panthers with a .597 points percentage against their frenemies that live across the coast.
However, last season, the Panthers weren’t as fortunate. In the introductory year of the Governor’s Cup, Tampa Bay had a clean sweep of Florida in 4 games. On October 10th, 2013, Tampa beat Florida 7-2 with a ridiculous effort from Stamkos that resulted in a Hat Trick (more on him later). On October 27th, 2013, Tampa won in a shootout, 4-3. The teams met again on December 13th, 2013, which resulted in another 6-1 blowout by Tampa Bay. Finally, the teams met for the last time on March 13th, 2014, with Tampa narrowly edging out the Panthers, in a 5-4 victory.
What To Expect:
This game should be extremely entertaining to watch. Tampa Bay definitely has something to prove this year after being swept by Montreal in the post-season. Many individuals might suggest that the absence of Ben Bishop between the pipes was the primary cause of this collapse so the 27-year-old netminder has a lot of weight on his shoulders this season. Tampa’s star center, Steven Stamkos, has also had a full summer to recover from his horrifying leg injury (which crushed my fantasy team last season) so expect to see a stellar performance from him. Speaking of terrible leg injuries (and a future star center), Aleksander Barkov is set to return to the Panthers top line after a full recovery from his Olympic incident.
Know Your Enemy:
Steven Stamkos: In the 31 games Stamkos has played against Florida, he has scored a ridiculous 38 points. Yes, you read that right. Stamkos has a 1.22 point-per-game pace against the Panthers. Unbelievable. At age 24, Stamkos is starting to enter his prime and has arguably one of the best shot in the NHL so I always tend to keep my eyes peeled for when #91 steps on the ice.
Expected Line Combinations:
terrible_quality_screencap.jpeg
Closing Thoughts:
Okay Panthers fans, the Governor’s Cup didn’t change a thing. Put down your Publix® Sub and make this rivalry a real thing. Let’s hope tonight is a hot “one under the sun”.
Kris M. can be reached for contact on Twitter or via email at thesunshineskate@gmail.com.
